Colt Leads Among Start-Ups
As Telecom Market Tightens

Edited by Hugo Dixon

Updated Nov. 9, 2000 12:49 a.m. ET

Europe's alternative telecom carriers are heading for a shake-up. Until recently, second-tier operators were the pilot fish of the European market, nimbly building out business networks ahead of the blundering incumbents. But now the latter are catching up, throwing money at developing rival services. The resultant competition for customers has hit revenues and share prices, making alternative carriers' bloated capital-expenditure programs harder to finance.